{
  "id": 9102428,
  "title": "B&Q sales slip but owner Kingfisher lifts profit target",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/22/b-q-sales-slip-but-owner-kingfisher-lifts-profit-target",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-22T06:35:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "City AM",
    "slug": "city-am",
    "url": "https://www.cityam.com/bq-sales-slip-but-owner-kingfisher-lifts-profit-target/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Kingfisher, the company that owns home improvement stores B&Q and Screwfix, has raised its profit forecast despite a decline in sales at B&Q. The FTSE 100 retailer now anticipates a pre-tax profit of £595m to £635m, up from the previous estimate of £565m to £625m. This improvement is attributed to the group's focus on \"trade\" customers, including builders, plumbers, and electricians.\n\nThe six months to July saw a pre-tax profit of £400m, marking an 18% increase from the same period last year. While like-for-like sales across the group grew by 1%, B&Q experienced a 2.9% drop in like-for-like sales. This decline was primarily due to a 5% decrease in sales of high-value items like kitchens and bathrooms, as well as a surge in online shopping due to summer heatwaves.\n\nKingfisher has initiated a thorough review of its bathroom product lines, which have reportedly underperformed in the current market conditions. Despite these challenges, B&Q's trade-only store has seen resilient sales, with a 0.2% increase to £490m. The company aims to achieve £5bn in trade sales across its retailers.\n\nSales at Screwfix surged by 5.6% in the six months to July, driven by a 7.3% increase in seasonal ranges. The company also reported a 2.2% rise in sales in its Polish market and a 2.3% decrease in France. Kingfisher's CEO, Thierry Garnier, highlighted the group's strategic progress and new growth opportunities, particularly in e-commerce and trade customers, as reasons to upgrade the profit guidance.",
  "summary": "Home improvement group Kingfisher has lifted its profit target despite seeing summer heatwaves push down sales at B&Q. The FTSE 100 retailer, which also owns Screwfix, said it now expects to make a pre-tax profit of between £595m and £635m, having previously guided between £565m and £625m. Last year, the group posted a £560m profit. [...]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "City AM",
        "title": "FTSE 100 Live: B&Q owner Kingfisher results, public sector net borrowing",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/22/ftse-100-live-b-q-owner-kingfisher-results-public-sector-net-borrowing",
        "published": "2026-09-22T05:45:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}